


Pains of the Past

by wanderingjedihistorian (RangerJedi67)



Series: Here There Be Dragons [8]
Category: Star Wars Legends: Jedi Apprentice Series - Jude Watson & Dave Wolverton, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dragons, But he is happy to provide Seppies for dragon Cody to take his anger out on, Clones are dragon shape shifters, Curious Cody, Discussions of Melida/Daan and all the terrible things involved with it, M/M, Mace admits the Council isn't perfect, Not exactly Qui-Gon bashing but not very positive about him either, Obi-Wan's Terrible Padawan Years
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-20
Updated: 2021-01-20
Packaged: 2021-03-18 14:07:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28868271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RangerJedi67/pseuds/wanderingjedihistorian
Summary: “How did you end up trapped in a war at thirteen?” Cody asked, carefully watching Obi-Wan’s face for his reaction.The Jedi kept his face infuriatingly neutral.“It’s a rather long story.”That was an attempt at avoidance.“We have plenty of time.”
Relationships: CC-2224 | Cody/Obi-Wan Kenobi
Series: Here There Be Dragons [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1902607
Comments: 11
Kudos: 233





	Pains of the Past

**Author's Note:**

> Many thanks to Shira for betaing!

CWCWCWCWCWCW 

Cody pieced together little things he had picked up, trying to form a picture of what Obi-Wan’s Padawanship must have been like. Obi-Wan himself said little about Qui-Gon Jinn, tone usually still shaded with grief when he did. There were things Anakin said about the late Jedi that didn’t seem to match up to what General Windu or Quinlan Vos said. It left Cody puzzled. His gentle attempts at asking Obi-Wan about it directly were met with a few stories that ultimately told him little and assurances that the rest “didn’t matter.” Which said it mattered _a lot,_ but it was hard to talk about. The clone wasn’t sure where to get answers. It wasn’t like he could walk right up to the Temple archives and ask for his Jedi’s entire life history. Still, he had been certain the overall relationship had been good and Obi-Wan’s apprenticeship normal, that the reluctance to say more was related to the tragic, _traumatic_ way Jinn had died.

A single sentence rocked his world.

The campaign on Ryloth was a success, eventually. After it was over, Waxer asked a question. The answer would haunt Cody.

“Sir, how’d you know how to keep Numa so calm? Was it a Jedi thing?”

A shadow crossed Obi-Wan’s face before he answered.

“No. That was a trick I learned as a young Padawan, the first time I saw a warzone and children caught in it. Being thirteen and trapped in a war teaches you many things.”

Trapped in a war? At 13? For a natborn that was a _child._ That was even younger than Ahsoka! There hadn’t been a galaxy-wide war back then. How had the Jedi let that happen? Cody needed answers but knew better than to ask in front of their men.

“Is everything alright? You seem quiet,” Obi-Wan observed that evening as they sat in their shared tent.

They had finished their meal but had plenty of reports still to do relating to the campaign. Usually, they chatted a bit as they worked on the never-ending formwork, but Cody was too distracted. He finally gave voice to the question burning in his mind.

“How did you end up trapped in a war at thirteen?” Cody asked, carefully watching Obi-Wan’s face for his reaction. 

The Jedi kept his face infuriatingly neutral.

“It’s a rather long story.” 

That was an attempt at avoidance.

“We have plenty of time.” 

Obi-Wan hesitated again. Cody respected his Jedi’s desire not to talk about a number of subjects, but what he had revealed that day made the constant dodging of questions about his padawan years and making light of what he did say troubling. The other Jedi who were close to their troopers freely shared stories. That Obi-Wan didn’t…it now seemed to imply things Cody didn’t want to think about. The Jedi’s past made him who he was, and it was _important._

“This isn’t a discussion to be had over formwork,” the Jedi said a heartbeat later.

“Ok. That’s fine,” the clone assured. 

They finished their work in awkward silence.

Cody could tell that his beloved was nervous. 

“Why don’t we sit on the cot while we talk?” he suggested.

It would give him the easiest path to offering comfort if it were needed. Obi-Wan agreed and they settled down.

“I nearly wasn’t taken as a Padawan,” he began slowly.

Obi-Wan recounted the incidents on Bandomeer, though it was a highly edited version. He didn’t think Cody really needed all of the details. 

“How did none of them see how remarkable you are?” Cody asked, surprised.

The Jedi just flushed the way he always did when he was praised and insisted that the clone was exaggerating.

“The first few missions Qui-Gon and I were assigned were difficult, but we settled into our partnership well enough,” he continued.

There was no need to upset Cody with things like the failed mindwipe. Knowing about the reconditioning some clones had faced, there was no need to bring up such terrible memories.

Cody could tell that Obi-Wan was censoring his story, but it was still more than he had ever been told in the past.

“Then we were sent to a planet called Melida/Daan. We were being sent to rescue another Jedi, a close friend of Qui-Gon’s named Tahl. She had gone missing and we had reason to believe she was in danger and were unfortunately right. The situation on Melida/Daan was…horrifying. They had been locked in a civil war for a very long time. A third faction was emerging. A faction of _children_ who were desperate to stop the war their parents insisted on fighting. We rescued Tahl, but she was badly injured. She needed to be returned to the Temple immediately for treatment, but I…I couldn’t just _leave._ I was thirteen years old and many of the Young were _younger_ than me,” Obi-Wan explained. “So, I stayed. But Qui-Gon returned to the Temple with Tahl.” 

Cody clenched his fists tightly.

“That shabuir _left you_ on a war-torn planet? Voluntarily? _And they let him remain your master?_ ” he snarled.

“It was a great deal more complicated than that,” the redhead attempted.

The clone took a series of deep breaths, trying to calm the rage welling up inside him.

“Explain it to me then, cyare, because it seems pretty karking straightforward to me.”

Obi-Wan tried. He told a highly edited version of the rest of the story, mindful of Cody’s existing anger. There was no need to make it worse than it had to be.

“He came back, eventually. And after my probation was over, we managed to get along well enough.” 

“ _Probation?”_

“Technically…I left the Order to remain behind. He didn’t _have_ to come back.”

Cody could feel his blood pressure increasing.

“And the Council blamed you for this?”

He didn’t want to ask, but he had to.

“They questioned my commitment to the Order. But once I proved it, things were fine.” 

Cody was not fine. Not fine at all. It was taking every scrap of self-control he had not to shift and go light something on fire. He wanted to go spar with some of his men. Something, anything to burn off the restless anger he felt. But if he left, Obi-Wan would react badly. He had to stay. He also had a feeling in the back of his mind that Obi-Wan had left out a _lot_ of details.

But next time he saw the man, he was having _words_ with General Windu.

CWCWCWCWCWCW 

His chance came sooner than he had expected. The next morning, they met with General Windu and to determine their next move before they left the planet.

When the issues with generals like Krell had been discovered, a procedure was put in place that allowed commanders to request information on their Jedi General’s background. Technically, they were only entitled to the basics, so Cody had filed the request and tagged it as a special request to Mace Windu since he was requesting more than that.

Their meeting about wrapping up on Ryloth had adjourned. Obi-Wan was with Anakin and Ahsoka. Cody took his chance. He found General Windu, shifted and landed right in the man’s path.

“Commander Cody, something I can help you with?” Mace asked, one eyebrow raised.

Cody gestured towards the datapad in the Jedi’s hand with his snout.

Mace wanted to point out he really didn’t have time for this, but he didn’t. It had been noted by many Jedi that when the clones were upset or nervous, they tended towards dragon form. For Obi-Wan’s commander to be coming to _him_ now, in that form...it wasn’t to be brushed off. He took the hint and checked his messages, finding the request from Cody.

Kark.

“Are you sure you really want these answers, Commander?”

A _glare_ from the speeder bike sized dragon in front of him said plenty. 

“You aren’t going to like what you hear,” Mace tried again.

A look that clearly said “I’m waiting” was the response that time.

“Fine. But I want you in human form while we have this conversation.”

Cody shifted back.

“Of course, General.”

“I guarantee you are going to want to punch something. I’ll find you a nice Separatist base to go burn down when we’re done.”

That didn’t reassure the clone any about what he was about to learn.

CWCWCWCWCWCW

Twenty minutes later, Cody desperately wanted some droids to show up. He wanted to tear something to pieces. Obi-Wan had glossed over and left out a _lot_ of details in this story.

“I told you that you weren’t going to like what I had to say,” Mace said, though his tone wasn’t unkind.

There were a thousand and one things Cody wanted to say in that moment, but he could say none of them.

“I could never have imagined _that_ ,” the clone reluctantly admitted. 

“It was a poorly handled situation, in retrospect,” Mace acknowledged. “Qui-Gon was…less than forthcoming with the details. It was _months_ after Obi-Wan’s return that we learned what had actually happened. Qui-Gon framed it as Obi-Wan choosing to leave the Order for the Young. He was less than straightforward as to _how_ Obi-Wan came to make that choice. It made us question Obi-Wan’s ability to _commit_ if he first left the Order so readily, then wanted to leave Melida/Daan so quickly. Once we knew the full circumstances…we knew it had been handled poorly. By then, other things had happened, and we felt revisiting the situation would be more hurtful than helpful, so we didn’t. Obi-Wan was fully reinstated and things moved on.” 

“Thank you, General, for answering my questions,” Cody said.

“You’re welcome, Commander. Normally, I wouldn’t approve of discussing something like this in such detail without the individual’s explicit approval. However, it is unfortunately a situation that will impact how he handles the war. In some ways, it’s why he’s better at it than many. He learned far too young. But it also means there is potential trauma that could rear its head. You need to be aware and you can’t be if he won’t be fully honest,” Mace said.

The clone nodded.

“That’s why I came to you. I could tell he was holding back but didn’t want to force the issue of him talking about it if there wasn’t a need.”

“Any other questions?” the Jedi asked.

“He told me some other things. A brief overview of his padawan years up to and after Melida/Daan. I think he was holding back on a lot of that too, but as it’s not as directly relevant, I’ll wait and try to bring it up again with him in the future,” the Commander said.

“A good decision,” Mace said, nodding his approval.

“Now, General Windu, I believe you promised me some Separatists to take my aggression out on.”

“I’m sure we can find you something.”

CWCWCWCWCWCW

“I’m sorry I put you in the position of feeling you had to go to someone else for information,” Obi-Wan said that night once they were safely back aboard the _Negotiator._

Cody sighed.

“You were obviously not telling me everything, which led me to believe it was too painful for you to talk about. Since you had told me some of it, I didn’t think you’d object to me getting additional details.”

The Jedi’s expression was complicated. 

“It is painful, but you and Mace are right. It had a profound impact on me, and I need to be conscious of that now more than ever.”

Obi-Wan wasn’t sure that he _liked_ Cody going to Mace for details without asking him if that was alright, but he had to admit that he was grateful not to have to go into full details himself. Growing up on Kamino had given the clones different views on a great many things, that was something Obi-Wan knew. So, he couldn’t blame Cody for having a different perception of appropriate in this case. They would need to talk about it, but that was a conversation for another time.

“I’m here,” the clone said softly. “If you need or want to talk about it. I’m here.”

“Thank you.”

The warmth of Cody’s embrace soothed him as he tried not to let the memories overwhelm him. He would need to meditate in the morning, ground himself once more.

CWCWCWCWCWCW

Three days later, Cody ripped six tanks apart with his claws. It was therapeutic.

CWCWCWCWCWCW 

**Author's Note:**

> Basically this one could be describe as the one in which Dragon shifter Cody learns about Obi-Wan's rough Padawan years and really wishes he knew a necromancer so he could punch Qui-Gon Jinn in the face. He settles for punching Separatists.


End file.
